Programme Management Specialist

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Ukraine UN Women Country Office opened its operations in 2015. The main office is based in Kyiv, with the sub-office in Dnipro (Eastern Ukraine). The UN Women program is focusing on supporting national, regional, and local partners, including women’s civil society organizations in advancing gender equality. UN Women has been producing evidence and gender analysis, and technical support to mainstream gender in the national and regional strategies, policies, programs, plans and budgets, supporting institutional capacities for gender equality, supporting women’s CSOs capacity development and targeted activities, etc.

The Russian invasion in Ukraine, humanitarian crises and political instability continue to pose substantial risks and challenges to the CO operations. Fifth Rapid damage And Needs Assessment (RDNA5)1 underlines both the scale of recovery needs and the gendered nature of the human impacts. It estimates US$587.7 billion in recovery and reconstruction needs over 10 years (as of December 31, 2025), reflecting the mounting pressure on public systems to prioritize, coordinate, and deliver effectively. At the same time, RDNA5 documents widening gender disparities. In 2025 women represented over 82% of registered unemployed persons, and caregiving responsibilities continue to constrain women’s labor market participation and income opportunities. Care responsibilities constrain job-seeking IDPs, specifically affecting 35% of women, reinforcing the practical link between recovery delivery capacity and policies that address care burdens, safe workplaces, and inclusive services. Compared with 2024, according to the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine women’s civilian casualties increased by 27% in 2025. At the same time financing and funding for gender equality and women’s empowerment continued to decline after the share of bilateral allocable official development assistance (ODA) to Ukraine that included gender equality objectives decreased to 16% in 2024 according to the OECD, and budget cuts led by the United States reduced funds for women led and women’s rights organizations.[1]

Since 2025, Ukraine CO has been implementing its Strategic Note 2025-2029 which contributes to the achievement of two UNDSDCF 2025-2029 priorities related to peace, justice and strong institutions (CF Outcome 4) and inclusive economic recovery (CF Outcome 2) and is aligned with UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2025-2029. A needs-based and adaptive programming approach will be applied across the humanitarian–development–peace (HDP) nexus in response to evolving context, in response to evolving context, rapidly changing needs at the ground, pollical and humanitarian scenarios. The CO implements its programming under three SN Outcomes: 1) Leadership, governance and WPS; 2) Women’s Economic Empowerment; 3) Humanitarian response and coordination.

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative, the Programme Management Specialist is responsible for overseeing the management, development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes as well for managing the human and financial resources of the team. This includes providing technical support to the implementation of the Country Office programmes, overseeing the monitoring of progress against mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators, monitoring Country Office programme financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results, reviewing and developing partnerships and resource mobilization strategies; and leading knowledge management efforts.

III. Key Functions and Accountabilities

• Advise and guide the development of Country Office programmes, including design and formulation programme/ project initiatives;
• Review and provide feedback to ongoing projects/ programmes on related strategies and documents, workplans, case studies, and related knowledge products and publications;
• Provide strategic and specialized technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting;
• Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports;
• Finalize policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.

1. Provide technical support to the implementation of the Country Office’ programmes

• Assess Country Office annual work plans and provide recommendations to assure compliance with programme goals and results-based indicators;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Oversee programme quality control and identification of potential challenges;
• Oversee monitoring and reporting for Country Office Review and recommend programme monitoring standards, criteria, and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results;
• Oversee the monitoring of progress against mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators;
• Gather information and prepare reports on progress of programme implementation for CO and donors; prepare technical reports;
• Provide technical support in the preparation of audits and follow up on the implementation of audit recommendations;
• Develop, coordinate and provide training on results-based management toCO.

1. Review budget management for Country Office and manage people

• Lead a team, perform staff performance reviews, ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities;
• Monitor Country Office programme financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination between offices, programmes and projects.

1. Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Contribute to development of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and develop potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing;
• Advice on programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

1. Lead knowledge building and sharing efforts

• Lead the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination.

1. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

N/A or Incumbent leads a team of 4 personnel.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Excellent analytical skills
• Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
• Strong knowledge of UN programme management systems
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation

Strong networking skills

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender is required
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required.
• Experience in working in a gender related area is desirable.
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing is required.
• Experience leading and coaching staff
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Ukrainianis required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.